Device for operating elevator-gates



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

W. H. GOLDER, DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR GATES. v No. 439,940.Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

i a Y ATTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETERS 00., mom-mum, msnmcra, a. c.

UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. GOLDER, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR-GATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,940, dated November4, 1890.

Application filed July 18, 1890. Serial No. 359,130. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GoLDER, of Portland, in the county ofMultnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and ImprovedElevator-Gate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of elevator-gatesthat are used to close the entrances to the elevator-Well and that areautomatically operated by the move ment of the elevator-car.

It has been the practice in operating this class of gates to have themboth raised and lowered by the movement of the car, and consequently ifthe gate in its descent or ascent met with an obstruction some part ofthe device would necessarily break. The object of my invention is toobviate this difficulty by producing a gate that will drop of its owngravity, and at the same time be controlled in its descent and to makethe connections with the gate in such a manner that nothing will bebroken though the gate meet with an obstruction.

A further objectof my invention is to produce a gate of simpleconstruction that is cheap and durable, that is constructed with-- outcastings that are likely to break, and that may be easily put in orderby an unskilled person in case any of its parts become disarranged.

To this end my invention consists in certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described,and specifically pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a broken front elevation of the gate and attachments asapplied to an elevator well and car. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssectionof the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is 'an enlarged detailedview showing the elevator-car and the gate-operating mechanismin sideelevation with the gate in section. Fig. 4 is a transverse section onthe line 4 4: of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a broken detailed view showingthe catches for engaging the gate-latches and the devices for releasingthe latches from the catches.

The elevator-car A may be of any ordinary construction, having asuitable cross-piece A at the top of the frame and the side pieces A ofthe frame, which move in the slotted side posts D, and thus guide thecar. The car A is operated by the cables at, which are attached to thecross-piece A and extend over the winding-drum O, which is pivoted inthe top of the elevator-well B.

I have shown means for raising the elevatorcar; but the car may beraised and lowered by any suitable mechanism. The gate E extendshorizontally across the entrance to the elevator-well B and movesvertically in the slots f of the supports F. When the gate is in closedposition, it rests upon the floor G, and a gate is provided for eachfloor of the building.

A strip H extends vertically on one side of 'the elevator-well, saidstrip being arranged adjacent to one of the side posts D, and the stripis provided with the parallel vertical dovetailed slots h, h, and kwhich extend throughout its entire length. Pivoted in the upper portionof the strip H, between the slots therein, are the pulleys 1', j, andIt, said pulleys being arranged one a little above the other, and thesize of the pulleys is such that their faces will be opposite thecentral portions of the slots. Pivoted in the lower portion of the stripH so as to align with the pulleys j and 10 are the pulleys j and k, thesaid pulleys at top and bottom of the strip H being adapted for thepassage of the gatecables, as described below. A catch L is dovetailedinto the slot h so as to move vertically therein, the said catchprojecting from the face of the strip H so as to engage thegateoperating latches, as described below, and a similar catch L movesin the slot h, the said catches being connected with the gate-operatingcable, as hereinafter described. The cable M is fixed centrally to theupper portion of the gate E, said cable being composed of two strands ormembers M, which extend upwardly over the pulleys m, which are pivotedto the support 17 near the upper part of the story, and the said membersM thence turn at right angles and pass over the pulleys n, which arepivoted to a suitable support near the upper corner of theelevator-well, and one of the said members M passes over the pulley iand thence down the slot h to the catch L, to which it is attached. Theother member M passes over the pulley kand thence down the slot 7L2,over the pulley lo, and thence up the slot h to the catch L, to thelower end of which it is attached. A cord or cable M is attached to theupper end of the catch L and extends upwardly through the slot h in thestrip H, over the pulley j, and thence down the slot h to the catch L,and is fixed to the upper end of the said catch. A cable M is fixed tothe lower end of the catch L and extends downward in the slot 72, overthe pulley j, and thence up through the slot h to the catch L, and isfixed to the lower end of said catch. It will thus be seen that thevarious cables form practically a continuous cable extending from theelevatorate E around the pulleys, as described above.

A projection O is fixed to the front ofthe strip H on the outer side ofthe slot h, said projection having inclined ends that it may easilyengage a latch, and a similar projec tion 0 is fixed to the strip Hbetween the slots h and 71 said projection having'in'clined ends likethose of the projection O, and the projections O and O are fixed inrelation to each other, so that as one latch passes oif from one of theprojections the opposite latch will engage the other project-ion. Thisoperation will be more fully described below.

A plate P is fixed to the top A of the elevator-car and projects atright angles to said top so as to extend opposite and parallel with thestrip H. The plate P is provided on its lower edge with a projectingportion 1?, which aligns with the slot h of the strip H, and upon itsupper edge with a projection portion P which aligns with the slot 7t ofthe strip H, and centrally pivoted on the plate P on the side next thestrip H are the latches 10 and p. The latch 10 extends downward oppositethe slot h in the strip H, and the latch p extends upward, aligning withthe slot h in the strip H. The latches p and p are sufficiently wide tolap the slots in the strips H and to engage the projections O and O onsaid strip, and the latches are held normally against the face of thestrip H by the springs 10 which are arranged between the latches and theplate P, said springs having suitable guides p 'to hold them inposition.

The projections O and O are arranged between each floor of a building,and when the elevator-car A is below the floor G and the gate E restsupon the floor the catch L will be normally in an elevated position, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the catch L will be nearly opposite thefloor. As the elevator ascends, the latch 19 strikes the lower end ofthe catch L and raises said catch in the slot h. As the catch L ascends,the catch L will be moved downward by means of its connection with thecatch L, and as the inner ends of the members M of the cable M areconnected with the upper ends of the catch L and with the lower end ofthe catch L the outer end of said members will be raised, thus raisingthe gate E. As the car continues its ascent, the latch 19 is brought incontact with the projection 0, thus raising the latch from the face ofthe strip H and allowing the catch L to pass beneath the latch. Thelatch 19 then engages the projection 0, thus releasing thelatch from thecatch L, and thereby allowing the gate E to drop of its own gravity, andas the gate drops the catch L is moved upward in the slot h and thecatch L moves downward'in the slot h, so that the catches resume theirformer position. When the car descends, this action is reversed, thecatch L being forced downward by the latch 19, thus operating themembers M of the cable M and raising the gate E, and the latch isreleased by the projection 0, thereby allowing the gate to drop.

It will be noticed that when the gate drops one of the latches issupported on a catch, thereby allowing the gate to drop with the samespeed at which the elevator-car moves, thus preventing the gate fromfalling too fast.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- The combination, with the car, its guideways,and operating mechanism, of the strip H, having three grooves h h k inits face parallel with said guideways, the pulleys t' j k at the upperends of said grooves and the pulleys j k at the lower end of strip H inVertical alignment with pulleys j 70, the inclined projections O 0,arranged as shown, the catchesLL, movable vertically in the grooves h h,respectively, the vertically-sliding gravity-closing gate, the pulleys mm n n above the gate, the double cable M, passing from the gate oversaid pulleys and downward over pulleys 71 7a to the upperjside of catchL and lower side of catch L, respectively, the cable M passing underpulley j upward to the catches L L, the cable M extending over pulley jto the catches L L, and the plate P, projecting from the car across thestrip H and having the two oppositely-projecting spring-catchesoverlapping the grooves h h to engage the catches and-projections,substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM H. GOLDER.

Witnesses:

. D. T. SELcHoW,

J. P. KENNEDY.

IIO

